52 feet tall. big tex welcomed visitors to the state fair of texas for 60 years. well, today, something caught fire inside the giant fiberglass body of big tex and it simply burned. the mayor of dallas is already promising to rebuild him. i can't believe i missed big tex when i lived in dallas. much more of the "newsroom" straight ahead with brooke baldwin. have you ever seen him? >> a travesty. r.i.p., big tex. >> he'll make a comeback. everything is big in texas. hello to you. i'm brooke baldwin. good to be with you on this friday. i have news just into us at cnn. the tsa plans to fire 25 employees and suspend another 19. you're looking at pictures. this is newark liberty international airport in new jersey. why, you ask? this is all over an

investigation into improper screening of checked luggage at the airport. accusations of theft surfaced last year. this reportedly the largest personnel action by the tsa in the agency's existence. so obviously as soon as we get more updates on this story, we'll pass them along to you. but, as we like to talk, politics, count them with me, 18, 18 days until election day. president obama hitting the campaign trail today in virginia. mitt romney, paul reinholding a rally tonight in daytona beach, florida. let's begin in virginia. where the president told a cheering crowd that mitt romney's showing signs of a mysterious disease. in fact, he had a name for it. he called romney-esia. >> if you say women should have access to contraceptive care but you support legislation that would let your employer deny you

contraceptive care, you might have a case of romnesia. if you say you'll protect a bright to choose but then you say you'd be delighted to sign a law outlining that right to choose in all cases, you definitely got romnesia. >> add that to the political lexicon now. do want to tell you about a couple of major newspaper endorsements today, from battleground states, colorado and florida this from colorado denver post. let me read it from you, romney's comments on the 47% of americans who refuse to take personal responsibility and care for their lives were a telling insight into his views and a low point of the campaign. that shrinking small. obama on the other hand has shown throwout his term he's a steady leader who keeps the interests of a broad array of americans in mind. we urge coloradans to re-elect

him to a second term. that's from the denver post. romney picks up the endorsement from the orlando sentinel. as governor of massachusetts, he worked with the democrat dominated legislature to close a $3 billion budget deficit without borrowing or raising taxes. and passed the health plan that became a national model. this is romney's time to lead. if he doesn't produce results, even with the hostile senate, we'll be ready for 2016 to get behind someone else who will. so, that said, let's bring in candy crowley. nice to see you on this friday. let's pick up where we left off. orlando sentinel, it is important because it endorsed the then senator obama four years ago and also this is florida. does it surprise you? >> doesn't surprise me particularly, but, i mean, we're going to see a lot of these kinds of endorsements and you notice that the "orlando sentinel" also said and if he doesn't produce in four years, we're happy to look for another

candidate. it doesn't surprise me particularly. it does help a candidate when they seem to be on a roll or it helps maybe stop the bleeding if a candidate begins to lose a state. it makes people look more. by and large i think you're looking at a voting population that mostly has made up its mind and right now it's about getting your people who are going to vote for you enthusiastic enough to show up on election day or fill out those absentee ballots or go to early voting. >> what about north carolina? i was reading my news observer today. and they talk about how the romney campaign, their word is beginning to feel confident enough about north carolina, they're beginning to shift out of state. apparently the chief romney spokesman in north carolina is now headed to ohio. so are we to, you know, deduce that they think north carolina is in the bag for team romney? >> you are to deduce that you need to follow the money and that generally is where a campaign thinks it can best use

it. so do they think it's in the bag? i think they feel confident enough to leave. but they can go back in if they want. but right now they obviously the romney campaign is looking to catch up in ohio. we all know that ohio takes on this very symbolic as well as real importance and you look at a state like north carolina, that has been trending romney, and so they feel pretty good about it. i don't know that inside these six or seven battleground states either campaign feels so solidly about them that they're going to, you know, leave open no option to go back. i think they can always go back. right now it looks good for romney in north carolina. >> let's look at polls this is a huge sort of asterisk because these polls were taken after the first debate, before the second one, that you moderated. and so you can see here, president obama, ohio, up just a slight advantage, three percentage points there. then we have florida, obama at 46, romney up by 3 percentage

points there in florida. we talked so much, we have been talking about ohio, how it has been the mother of all battleground states. we will continue to see all of these guys, you know, campaigning hard there. what do they need to do to convince the voter to vote for their camp? >> well, at the moment it is about, as i say, closing the deal. it is now about all the things that we cannot see. it is about the phone calls. it is about the e-mail and the texts and all of those things that these campaigns are sending out. it is about galvanizing folks. there are undecideds there who still can be swayed. you don't want to make a mistake. in the end, you've got to go to these places where you need big turnout and you have to rouse the crowd and say, we'll hear this, the pitch, day by day by day gets higher when you're at this point in the campaign. it is an exciting time on the campaign trail as you want some

sort of bounce from one swing state to another. and this is the time when they really are just trying to say, it's important, all of you who are forming, you need to get out there and vote. so, yes, it is about the swing voters. but it's by and large about getting your own voters really excited and jazzed up to go vote. >> 18 day and counting. not that anyone is. we are every day. thank you so much. make sure you watch candy, hosts "state of the union" each and every sunday. newt gingrich and bill richardson preview monday's debate, the one on foreign policy. "state of the union" 9:00 in the morning eastern time on sundays, only on cnn. and you hear a lot of talk as we just did about battleground states when it comes to the election. but take a look at this map. ali velshi, john avalon are hitting the road on the battleground bus tour. they'll be visiting florida, north carolina, virginia and ohio. so we got ali and john to give

us a little battleground bus preview. take a look. ♪ >> reporter: we are hearing different things from people wherever we're going. >> battleground bus state tour, a chance to get on the road and talk to folks on the ground in the states that will decide the winner of the next presidential election. florida, virginia, ohio. this election will be decided by a comparatively small number of voters and a handful of states. >> there is this new normal that says things aren't as prosperous as they used to be. i want to see if the election changes that for people. >> it is tight. this election is tight right now. >> for all the economic reports you can read, for interviews you can have with ceos and discussions with economists, you can tell more about the economy by getting out there and understanding how people are making their money and spending their money. >> when do you open up? >> we're going to be going through parts of the country that have very, very different and specific economic needs, but

each one of those will map on to something else across the country. thersay really important distinction between where people are and where they think they're going. being on these trips really gives me a sense of where people think they're going. jobs, unemployment, how many think that's a big problem. as much as people would like to say i don't care about the circus, this isn't about me, they kind of have to. >> drop it right in there. >> thank you so much. >> it is a right and a responsibility. if folks aren't clear on that, they should go read a history look. it is our rent for living in a free country. >> we're just there to talk to them. we're just there to listen. most of the time people think we talk for a living. but we're actually going to be listening to people and there is no greater education than that. >> so ali velshi, you're about to hit the trail here, hit the road. when you talk about you want to know where people think they're going, what will you be asking? imagine economy number one. >> the one thing about the -- the interesting thing about the battleground state we're talking

about, the economic situations are different. their concerns are different. in florida, we're looking at housing prices and foreclosures. unemployment. then you get up here into agricultural area and then into a place where there was a lot of industry and trying to talk about retraining and reshifting in north carolina. you get into virginia, and you got a different set of problems including in loudon county in northern virginia. a lot of the industry there is based on government. so things like the sequester and losing defense spending are of great concern. where the rest of the country is worried about how much involvement the government should have in their lives, up here, government has a great deal to do with the lives of the people in northern virginia and southern maryland and that's made property values go up and made people prosperous. you go over here into eastern ohio, you got youngstown, gm plant, you've got fracking, which is making -- natural gas fracking, that's influencing people. and further west to canton and toledo and you've got manufacturing concerns. concerns about china and

importing and exporting. so different things all across the country. how do these people think barack obama or mitt romney will serve their interests? what are they thinking? do they think the world gets better after this election? we're going to learn a lot about that, brooke. >> okay, curtailing the questions, based upon where you are makes sense. we'll check in with you and john on the road, thank you. don't forget, watch that third and final presidential debate, all about foreign policy, it is monday, live coverage, boca raton, florida, begins monday night, 7:00 eastern. america's most famous pastor once said he's done. advising presidents. but billy graham admitting this is probably his last election, is advising voters to cast a ballot for their faith and that is where things have gotten interesting between the graham family and mitt romney. eric maripotti explains. >> prayer is the most helpful thing you can do for me. >> reporter: all smiles for

billy graham and mitt romney at the mountaintop retreat last week. soon after the cookies and soft drinks were put away, the association scrubbed references to mormonism as a cult from its website. they said in part they removed the cult references because, quote, we do not wish to participate in a theological debate about something that has become politicized during this campaign. romney is a life long member of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints, also known as mormons. his church membership had been seen as a political liability among conservative evangelical christians, a key gop voting bloc, who along with catholics and other protestant churches have long considered mormons not to be christians. the lds church bristles at the term cult saying it is incorrect and derogatory but says, yes, there are big theological differences between their church and others. all the more reason the change in language from graham's organization could mean a big

change politically. >> could be an attempt to better communicate what the position is vis-a-vis mormons that we don't see them as branch davidians, we don't see them as some group that is cultic in that sense. >> reporter: dr. richard land runs the public policy center for the southern baptist convention. >> i don't think it says they're accepting them as orthodox christians, but i do think it probably is an attempt to clean up some past language that doesn't communicate effectively in the 21st century. >> reporter: the move by the graham organization could create a political boost for the romney campaign, which tries to court evangelicals despite the differences with the lds church. >> no one, no one has remotely the kind of influence and the kind of reverence in the evangelical community that billy graham has. >> reporter: graham, america's past pastor, has walked a political

tight rope for decades, counseling every sitting press president since harry truman, and proclaiming his political neutrality. but graham's son is not sitting on the sidelines. he said he's voted early, and for romney, repeating to cnn's piers morgan a classic romney campaign talking point. >> we're not voting for the man who is going to be our pastor in chief, we're looking for a commander in chief. >> reporter: the billy graham evangelical association released a national print ad, full page, in lots of papers around the country. it featured the elder graham and a message to voters reminding them to vote for candidates who support biblical principles like traditional marriage, the sanctity of life and religious liberty. all issues in the presidential race that line up pretty well for mitt romney. but the association insists the ads are biblical and not political and they say graham remains politically neutral. eric marip otti, cnn, washington. just ten days after being

shot in the head, a girl targeted by the taliban stands up and communicates. and a neurosurgeon is about to explain how. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. the pentagon fights back after a female soldier sues for being left off the front lines and i'll speak with her live. plus, american spies reportedly want more drones. what the cia is asking of the white house. and the attack in benghazi, new questions today about what the intelligence community knew and when. i have a cold, and i took nyquil, but i'm still stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels speeds relief to your worst cold symptoms plus has a decongestant for your stuffy nose. thanks. that's the cold truth! -oh, that's just my buds. -bacon.

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children to educate. a middle class to rebuild. but the last thing we should do is turn back now. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message. have led to an increase intands clinical depression. drug and alcohol abuse is up. and those dealing with grief don't have access to the professional help they need. when you see these issues, do you want to walk away or step up?

with a degree in the field of counseling or psychology from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to make a difference in the lives of others. let's get started at capella.edu at meineke i have options... like oil changes starting at $19.95. my money. my choice. my meineke. first, a warning here, some of what we're about to show you is hard to take. do you see? look at this, this look of confusion, pain, on this woman's face, being carried away. folks, she was one of the lucky ones. a car bombing in beirut, in lebanon, killed at least three others while ripping through a bustling area of the city. that woman and about 100 other

people were wounded. cnn's mohammed jamjoom is live for us in beirut. one of those killed is a high level intelligence officer. who was he? >> reporter: that's right, brooke. this is somebody who used to be head of security for thhariri. general hasan, someone with the internal security forces with the information office, with the internal security forces, someone spearheading for several years the investigation into who plotted the attack and the assassination of hariri, his former boss. very visible, sunni political figure here in the country. that's why this is stoking so much concern at this hour. we were at the blast site earlier in the day. i can tell you, the people we were speaking with, the ones that had tears streaming down their face, shielding the kids from the carnage around them, so many were asking us at that hour

before anything was known, did you think that perhaps a political figure was targeted today? because if that's the case, they were saying it takes them back to memories of 2005 when there was a spate of political assassinations going on in lebanon and people afraid here today this could be a harbinger of that type of thing to come. >> because of this, official's death, there are protests on the streets. it is about 9:20 in the evening where you are. is that still happening? >> reporter: we heard there has been reports of clashes going on in tripoli in the north of the country, clashes going on between alowite factions up there, enclaves very much backing syrian president bashar al saad, a neighboring country of syria. we heard of protesters on streets in beirut in sunni neighborhoods that are burning tires in protest of what happened today. not uncommon for this to happen with such a high profile sunni figure for supporters of this figure to be out there burning tires.

again, a worrying development and a lot of tension in the air tonight as of what will come in the hours and days ahead because of what happened today. >> mohammed jamjoom, we'll chak ba check back with you, thank you. this young girl, she was shot in the head, point blank, by the taliban, ten days ago, she is now standing and communicating. we'll talk with a neurosurgeon about how in the world she's able to do that. bob, these projections... they're... optimistic. productivity up, costs down, time to market reduced... those are good things.

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you know, every so often a story comes along that is so horrifying, the whole world stops to watch. this is one of them. malala yousufzai, the pakistani girl who dared to speak up and out against the taliban declaring her right to go to school. for her bravery, she was shot point blank in her head by one of the gunmen and we're happy to report today we have an update on her recovery, it is good news. not only is she awake and, by the way, these are fresh pictures you're seeing of her right now, there is a lot more to tell you about, the world attention around her, fight for survival has been so massive, the british hospital where she's being treated now has set up this website, and if you want to go on, you can. it updates itself every few

hours. here is the latest. she not only is awake, she has movement of her arms and legs and she has managed to stand up. but her injury is so complex, we brought in a neurosurgeon to help explain. welcome and thank you for bringing this because this just helps us for those of us who are not neurosurgeons understand what is going on. let's begin with malala and her -- where exactly do we believe the bullet entered her brain? >> our understanding from the report -- >> this is the front of the skull. >> this is the left and this is the right and this is the front and this is the back. >> okay. >> it sounds like the bullet struck right behind her left eye, and grazed her brain and when it did that, it fragmented and fractured her skull and sent many bone fragments into her brain, probably into this area and then the bullet continued to travel down in her neck. >> that's part of the problem to point out, it is not as much the bullet as it is the fragments of

her skull that are now in her brain. >> it is a combination of both. the injury that has suffered from a gunshot wound is not necessarily the bullet itself, but the high speed at which it is traveling and it carries a tremendous amount of energy and creates this shock wave that shattered both the skull and the brain around it and it literally creates a shock wave that passes through and destroys large amounts of brain. >> she's able to write full sentences and she can stand. how is that possible ten days later, especially when we're talking left side of the brain, doesn't that control -- i know not speech, but communicative skills. >> it does. and it is really phenomenal considering that she was shot at point blank range with probably a very high caliber powerful weapon and she survived it all, not to mention she made a remarkable recovery. >> ten days later.

>> right. what may have happened is she was fortunate in that it was a grazing injury and damaged her frontal lobe but spared some other areas like her brain. there are areas back here and here that are related to language function. it may have damaged areas adjacent to that but spared those. it sounds as though it may have spared the motor areas, so the areas that control her arm and leg on the opposite side of her body, because she's able to stand up. now, the other thing to bare in mind, breathing tube has not been taken out, we know she can write sentences which is very encouraging, but she may still have some subtle problems with language that may not make themselves obvious until later on. >> you're saying subtle problems. so in terms of speaking in general, do you not think that will be a problem for her? >> she may have some more subtle issues with speaking, like more complicated issues we can't pick up on right now because she has breathing tubes in, and but nonetheless, given how much she's recovered already, and the

fact that she's very young, she's only 14. >> her age has to help. >> that is incredible because i can't telly how many patients i've taken care of who are children who have horrible injuries who were in icus for weeks to months and then walk out of the hospital solely because they're children and children have incredible ability to recover. >> it is incredible. and the brain is fascinating, is it not? >> absolutely. >> thank you, doctor. we appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. up next, some new questions about what the intelligence community knew about the attack in benghazi and when, especially in the wake of one report and one suspect is just sipping coffee and talking to the american media. we're not in london, are we? no. why? apparently my debit card is. what? i know. don't worry, we have cancelled your old card. great. thank you. in addition to us monitoring your accounts for unusual activity, you could also set up free account alerts. okay. [ female announcer ] at wells fargo we're working around the clock to help protect your money and financial information. here's your temporary card. welcome back.

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that tack in lattack in libya. >> we weren't confused about the fact that four americans were killed. i wasn't confused about the fact that we needed to ramp up diplomatic security around the world after it happened. >> it was not the optimal response to the american people as far as us all being on the same page. >> here's what i'll say. >> yeah. >> if four americans get killed, it is not optimal. >> let's go to the pentagon now and talk to chris lawrence because, chris, there are all these new reports, they come in as far as what the cia might have known. what are you hearing? >> well, we're hearing some new reports from the ap, brooke, but stuff that cnn has already reported weeks ago. basically that in were indications shortly after this attack that it may not have been spontaneous, that it may have been planned. in fact, a u.s. official is basically saying no one right now is ruling out the idea that

some of the attackers may have aspired to attack the consulate, but right now that official is also saying and also telling us there isn't any indication, any intelligence that suggests this attack was preplanned for days or much less weeks before hand. all this comes back to what the obama administration was saying in the days and weeks following the attack, specifically what u.n. ambassador susan rice said on the sunday talk shows when she called this attack spontaneous. apparently she was speaking from sort of a talking points memo that was generated, supposedly just for congress, but then the administration officials went out and used some of the talking points on that memo, and she called the attack spontaneous. now, of course, senior administration officials are saying that was probably a poor choice of words and what she perhaps should have said was that there didn't appear to be any long range planning of this

attack. >> so, chris, just quickly, as the u.s. is trying to figure out who did this, there was a fascinating article in the new york times about who they basically dub as the ring leader of this benghazi attack, sip something strawberry frappe at a luxury hotel, not hiding. who is this guy? >> ahmad al katala. he had coffee with this man who is open, not hiding, and shows no fear from libyan or u.s. officials about what may happen to him. he denies being the so-called ring leader of this attack. he says he was there on the scene. but says that he does not necessarily have strict ties with the militant group under suspicion. i spoke to a senior official here who says that group is a group that is known to officials, they have sort of what we call eyes on them, and in other words they know their

location, but there is still a lot of confusion as to whether he was the ring leader and if so how this went down. >> chris lawrence, thank you, chris. and before we go to break here, look at the big board. the dow is tumbling. it is down monre than 200 point. why, you ask? apparently because of the weak earnings reports. we're keeping an eye on this. you can too. go to cnnmoney.com. have you seen this road we're going down? ♪ there is no relief for the brakes. we'll put them to the test today. all right, let's move out! [ ross ] we're pushing the ats brakes to the limit. going as fast as we can down the hill. we are making these sharp turns, slamming on the brembo brakes. [ derek ] it's like instant response, incredibly consistent. this is the challenge, machine vs. mountain. [ male announcer ] the all-new cadillac ats.

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each week we take the time to shine the spotlight on the top ten cnn heroes of 2012 as you vote for the one who inspires you the most. quick reminder go, to cnnheroes.com. this week's honoree is a single mother from haiti, who became the target of sexual violence, but turned her personal trauma into a fight for justice. >> translator: two years after

the earthquake, the situation is still the same. the people are still under the tents. they don't have electricity. there is no security where they sleep. they are getting raped. in haiti, things are very difficult. before the earthquake, there were rapes happening. now i can say it is total disorder. >> translator: adults are not spared, mothers are not spared. even babies are not spared. my name is malya. i am a victim of sexual violence. i am on a mission to eradicate this issue so that other haitian women do not fall victim.

we do awareness in the camps. we were working in 22 camps after the earthquake. now we are trying to work in others. we tell people to come out of silence, do not be afraid to say you have been victimized. we offer psychological and legal support. we have a support center. we accompany the victim to the hospital. and we have a safe house program. for me, the first thing is justice that i want. i was a victim and i did not find justice. but i know i will get it for other women that are victims. we have to fight so we can save what was save what was the past, hate haiti. this is a great nation. there will be a change. >> go to cnnheroes.com, online,

or on mobile device, vote up to ten times a day every day for the inspirational hero and all ten will be honored live at cnn heroes, an all-star tribute hosted by anderson cooper, sunday, december 2nd, set your dvr now. only one will be named cnn hero of the year. right now, let's go back to the big board here and talk about this dow. it is down. it is tumbling. what is happening? >> third quarter earnings season, it started off pretty good considering there are lowered expectations for how the quarter was going to do financials, they came out swingi swinging, but now back it reality. there is a flood of corporate heavyweights coming in with really disappointing earnings. for one general electric, mcdonald's and both of these big companies, europe's debt crisis and the slower u.s. economy and one way or another are impacting

these companies bottom line. both are pointing to the challenging economy and weakness in europe, specifically also we're watching shares of chipotle down 15% now. shares of amd, advanced microdevices, down 16%. they're cutting jobs. they're saying it is just a bad market for pcs. we're not buying personal computers anymore. that's as we see mcdonald's shares falling 4%. general electric falling more than 3%. all of this, brooke, you know what today is? today is the 25th anniversary of a 1987 stock market crash when the dow plunged 508 points, which is huge by today's standards, an even big dealer then considering the levels that the dow traded at were much lower, between 2,000 and 3,000 range. we're trading at the 13,000 range, but how ironic we're seeing this sellup of 223 points on the 25th anniversary of the crash. >> we're watching it with little over an hour to go here before

the closing bell. a alison, we'll check back if need be. thank you. there are new talk shows and hosts to choose from this season. can any of them replace the queen of daytime. we'll tell you who may have a shot next. [ male announcer ] humana and walmart have teamed up to bring you a low-priced medicare prescription drug plan. ♪ with a low national plan premium...

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this has been a unique time in television. this is the first season in 25 years without the queen of talk reigning over the daytime ratings. oprah winfrey. this batch of newcomers are seeking to fill her void if that can be done. how is it going? nischelle turn hears the early winners and losers of daytime talk. >> i love the leather. you're looking good. you're looking good. >> it is like butter, baby. >> reporter: on katie, guest maze get high fives, but the ratings, they're more like low

2s. >> feel investigate short today. not going to lie. >> reporter: a month in her much ballyhooed daytime talk show, katie couric typically pulls in 2.3 million viewers a day. those numbers don't impress some experts like tv guide's tv batalio. >> in daytime syndication, you want the new show you put on to perform better than the one it replaced. the show hasn't done that yet. >> reporter: the race for daytime viewers is starting to sort itself out. >> you've come to the right place. >> reporter: ricki lake is down and out already. the new show from jef probst is struggling too. count maggie furlong among those who are surprised. >> i thought jeff probst always had this every guy quality to him and people connect with jeff, but maybe it is harder to make that shift from, you know, a primetime sort of game show situation to being a talk show host. >> we got a good one lined up for you today, folks.

>> reporter: the biggest surprise may be the strong performance of steve harvey's new show. >> they rolled this show out with not tremendously high expectations. over time, if the show broadens out, it could become a very big hit. >> reporter: katie is the ratings leader among the new shows, even if host and audience haven't totally clicked. >> people love katie couric on the "today" show. since then she was something completely different, an anchor on the evening news. it was a different and more serious persona. now the viewer has to get reacquainted with katie again as a personality. and that's probably going to take some time. >> this is a safe place to talk about hard things. >> reporter: if the new season has demonstrated anything, it is that daytime tv veterans are hard to beat. >> oh, i appreciate it so very much. >> reporter: dr. phil and ellen are leading the pack. ellen's up this season in total viewers, and in the coveted demographic. women, 25 to 54. >> i think ellen is the queen of

daytime hands down. i feel like she's on top and she'll be on top for a while. >> reporter: with competition only going to get stiffer. by next fall, expect new shows from queen latifah, and bethenny frankel who got a tryout over the summer. and there is talk kardashian mom kris jenner may also get a show. >> there are so many channels, there are so many options, in this daytime realm, you have a million different options to watch. >> reporter: nischelle turner, cnn, hollywood. >> thank you. in addition to the stresses of war, it has to be frightening for servicemen and women going into a culture completely opposite from america's. i'm about to speak live with an intelligence collector, a veteran who is preparing these cadets for what to expect and you have to hear his stories. jack, you're a little boring.

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foreign policy, it is a hot button issue, of course, in this election. the subject of monday's presidential debate and one of the big concerns, the safety of our troops. all around the world. enter the rotc project go. the program teaches rotc cadets critical language skills, skills that will help foster relationships, gain intelligence, and possibly even save the life of a fellow soldier.

i'll introduce you to someone pretty special to me, but first let me tell you as we look at pictures of him, he brought project go to the university of arizona. he spent 15 months in iraq for the u.s. army as an intelligence collector and full disclosure, he's my cousin. charlie mink, nice to see you, sir. >> hi, how are you doing, brooke? you never call me. >> you know, how about this, i'll put you on tv instead. let's begin with, this is personal for you. you served our country in iraq, you learned arabic in order to do your job over there. tell me exactly just when you were there, how did it help you? >> well, let me first try to connect for our viewers the two notions of language education and national security. it may not be an obvious connection and it kind of explains why our program is funded by the department of defense and not the department of education. when our uniform language personnel can speak other langz and engage expertly in the local

culture, they are improving the reputation and the image of the united states. and they do that by refuting a very common criticism leveled against americans generally and that is that we expect the world to accommodate our language and our culture. we expect the world to speak english and love and value things american. and when we -- when our folks undermine that criticism, they make our country safer and they do that by improving our image. image and security are directly connected, they're directly proportional. when the former increases, when the former improves, the latter increases. the importance of the image of the american soldier, what he represents to millions of people who interact with him -- >> he or she, charlie mink. he or she. >> sure. >> but when they're able to go over there and speak the language, that helps us and it helps us potentially help them and as we talk about project go, you mentioned this is dod, department of defense initiative, how is it a program work and who can take part? >> right, it is funded through

an office called the defense language and national security education office. they're the good folks, mike nugent and his crew are in rossland, virginia, not far from the pentagon, they're procuring defense dollars for language education. that trickles down to the universities through a nonprofit in d.c. called the institute for international education. at the university of arizona, in fact, you mentioned that i brought project go to the university of arizona, i didn't. it was the center for middle eastern studies. >> you're project coordinator. >> right. yeah. i'm currently the coordinator for it. the school for middle east and north african studies, we have a strong program at the university. we got the grant money. we use it for innovative stuff. tutors, native language speaking partners, we sponsor an immersion program in jordan during the summer. >> we saw pictures of you in jordan scouting on that location.

we talk about the languages, we mentioned arabic, the ten -- the government deems them critical languages, langz like swahili and russian and chinese, we're almost out of time, 30 seconds here, who can be part of this. >> any rotc student can participate in project go. we'll put the website on cnn.com. it is open to rotc students nationwide. you do not need to be affiliated with the 25 universities that are receiving this grant money. >> here it is. >> and we'll make it searchable on that website. >> perfect. charlie, thank you. thanks, cousin. nice work. >> thanks, brooke. appreciate it. see you at thanksgiving. >> all right. deal. we'll be right back.

the mars rover arrived at what nasa officials consider the promised land. curiosity discovered some unexpected objects within mars soil. small specks that didn't seem to

belong there. scientists fear they might be contamination from earth, possibly debris from the rover. but they now believe the specks may be to mars and the rover has shoved a spoon full of martian soil into the belly of rover to analyze it. next, a three-mile high mountain made of layers of sediment. top of the hour on this friday. i'm brooke baldwin. we begin with politics. mitt romney, paul ryan getting ready for a big campaign rally tonight in florida. and we are already hearing from president obama. take a look. ♪ here he is campaigning in virginia today. and he spoke it a popular campaign theme, women. take a listen. >> when the next president and congress could tip the balance of the highest court in the land in a way that turns back the clock for women and families for

decades to come, you don't want someone who needs to ask for binders of women, you don't want that guy. you want a president who already appointed two unbelievable women to the supreme court of the united states. >> the election may hinge on how women vote in states like wisconsin. we sent miguel marquez to the southeastern wisconsin town of waterford, where he talked with business women, many of them still waivering on how they'll vote. >> reporter: here we are milking cow in wisconsin. who else would we be doing in a place that offers up such delicious dairy delicacies. this is in play, in a place that hasn't voted for a republican since reagan in 1984. the rank family has farmed here since grover cleveland was president. marcia rank and linda nelson

have run the family dairy for 16 years. >> right underneath. yeah. >> reporter: twice a day, 3:00 a.m. and p.m., they milk their cows. they want to expand, but it is pricey and credit tight. their biggest concern, government debt acting like an anchor on the economy. either of you made up your mind about who you're going to vote for? >> i have a pretty good idea. >> yeah. >> reporter: but still could change it? >> could change it. >> yeah. >> anything can change. >> reporter: so what is it they want out of the white house? >> it is going to take someone that wants to strap on their big boy boots and really take charge and say, look, we are in a world of hurt, we need change. >> reporter: voters here take elections seriously. turnout is high. and most voters independent. to give you an idea of how swinging wisconsin is, these counties voted for george bush in 2000 and 2004. the same counties voted obama in

'08. there are more bush to obama swing counties in wisconsin than any other state. even in the same family, votes split. >> i'm voting for romney. >> reporter: you're voting for romney because of his business credentials? yes, he's a business man first. >> reporter: did you make up your mind? >> i have no clue who i'm going to vote for. it tighter eteeters, depending. >> reporter: they struggle but the business grew, now in a bigger space and three new employees. are sourcial issues or economic issues bigger for you? >> i would have to say economic. but social issues are important. >> reporter: carol rents out most of her farm land and says she works harder than ever to keep her head above water. d do you have a sense of the campaign right now? >> hot and heavy, on the phone,

on the ground. >> reporter: working for their votes in the final stretch. >> and miguel marquez joins me live, maybe with cows behind you. looks like you're in some sort of farmhouse in racine. september unemployment numbers just out here in wisconsin, i can tell you, unemployment dropped to 7.3%. so that is an improvement over august. half a point better than the national jobless rate. that's at 7.8%. in talking to these people, in wisconsin, is that reflected overall maybe in improvement in jobs numbers, the mood? >> reporter: most people feel here that they are just keeping their heads above water. so they feel somewhat optimistic but afraid that things will either slide back or not making enough progress fast enough. that's the biggest concern. it is reflected in a couple of polls we had recently. marquette university poll that showed the race almost tied. and nbc marist poll that took

into account a few of the responds anyway, that second debate, and that showed president obama up by five or six points here. it is a bit of a mixed bag here. republicans still think they can pick off the state, though. >> if it is a mixed bag and that's reflected as you mentioned here in the different polls out of wisconsin. bottom line, what is keeping these men and women from deciding today who they like. >> it is uncertain, it is a weak preference as pollsters would call it. they're saying, look, they like one candidate or another, but they are still swayable and can i just show you, brooke, too, our not swayable -- very swayable, they're hungry right now. these are two -- that story we showed you, these two are born two days ago, just a few hours after we shot that story. this one with the white bit here is mit. this little guy is barack. they don't really care about polls. all they care about is milk. they have been chewing on my knees for the last 15 minutes we have been waiting for you.

>> miguel marquez with his two little baby cows. thank you so much. talking politics in a barn. i love it. just a quick remind, watch the third and final presidential debate right here on cnn, live coverage from boca raton, florida, monday night at 7:00 p.m. eastern. a car bombing in beirut, lebanon, has killed at least three and led to protests in the streets. about 100 others were hurt, including this woman here. among those killed, a brigadier general who is the chief of the internal security forces information branch. the bomb was in a car, parked in front of a library in a bustling area of the city. some people have fired guns into the streets of lebanon's tripoli, protesting the attack. now to the u.s. effort against terrorists. the cia wants more drones. have you read the washington post this morning? they're talking about the cia director david petraeus asking the white house to bolster its fleet which could result in ten more of the unmanned aircraft.

the fleet currently contains about 30 to 35 drones, and the post also is reporting the request is assigned the cia is concerned about al qaeda's impact, specifically in north africa and the middle east. here's what one unidentified u.s. official tells the paper, quote, with what happened in libya, we're realizing those places are going to heat up. that is reference to those four americans killed at the u.s. consulate in benghazi, just last month. i want to go to fareed zakaria, host of a from a re"fareed zaka" how successful has the program been thus far? >> in the afghanistan/pakistan area, brooke, spectacularly successful. the organization that planned and plotted 9/11 was decimated, 70% of the senior leadership has been destroyed.

of course, osama bin laden. now, bin laden was killed by a team of navy s.e.a.l.s. almost every other senior al qaeda member has been killed by drones as have senior al qaeda people in yemen, in other parts of the arab world. so very, very successful. >> but here's the but. there is this study, it was stanford university, new york university law schools, this was a study from last month, reported that drones in pakistan alone have killed anywhere from 400 to 800 civilians, what they call collateral damage over the last eight years. fareed, if the study is accurate, wouldn't drones on the flip side just create more hate for the u.s.? >> yeah, i'm sure the study is accurate. that number does not seem like a wild exaggeration. here is the problem. these are people plotting to kill americans, westerners or innocent civilians all over the world. you have to go and get them. the other way to get at them is to send in teams of navy s.e.a.l.s, rangers, marines,

those operations are very hard to do because you to have incredibly good intelligence. you have to get behind enemy lines often and there will often be many more casualties for u.s. troops. what the drone allows you to do is go deep behind enemy lines, and at relatively low to no cost to american servicemen you're able to pinpoint these people. so it is a trade-off. but it is not as though you can sit back and do nothing. these groups are actively planning to -- terrorist attacks against the united states. either we do it in a twha way ts more risky for us or it has kite rawl dama collateral damage. it is a tough trade-off. at the end of the day, think the administration is doing the right thing. when other nations start doing it, that's when we worry. if the russians use drones -- >> it is a tough issue. it may come up monday night, foreign policy debate, boca

raton, florida. syria, libya, all the different issues percolating foreign policy wise. what is the one, one question that the presidential candidates need to answer monday night. >> i think probably the single most important one that they have to confront, which the next president will confront is what are you going to do about iran because they have both drawn pretty bright lines and said we will not allow it to acquire nuclear weapon, but, fine. if they continue to enrich, what is the negotiated path? we understand what the military path is, what are you willing to put on the table, put it another way, any negotiation, the other guy has to get something as well. what are you willing to gift iranians. we know the stick. what is the carrot? >> iran, definitely monday night. before i let you go, your primetime special this sunday on cnn. tell me about it. >> we went all over the world to ask this question, how are we going to deal with the fact, there is so much more growth on

planet, so many more people, everybody wants to live like americans, everyone wants the american dream and the new york times columnist says if everybody wants the american dream, we need another planet. so how do we power, how do we find the energy to allow all these other countries and including ourselves, how do we continue to grow? we have 390 million people by 2050. how do we find space and energy solutions for it? we're going to look at denmark for wind. we look at france for nuclear. we look at germany for solar power. and then we go back home in america to look at this incredible natural gas explosion that is powering america. >> it is called global lessons, the gps road map for powering america. you can watch it sunday night 8:00 or 11:00 eastern and pacific right here on cnn. fareed zakaria, thank you. you think the presidential debates are getting testy? there are some congressional races that are downright nasty.

we're about to explain why every race matters. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. the pentagon fights back after a female soldier sues for being left off the front lines and i'll speak with her live. plus, just ten days after being shot in the head, the girl targeted by the taliban stands up and communicates. a neurosurgeon tells me how. and erin burnett joins me live on which man most benefits from early voting. [ male announcer ] citi turns 200 this year. in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones.

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it seems everyone's been talking about the mitt romney comment, binders full of women, at tuesday's presidential debate. we looked at number of women that worked in high level positions for romney as governor of massachusetts. but here is a different number to chew on when it comes to

women, 14 1/2, that's a percentage of u.s. army personnel on active duty who are women. less than 15%. and they can't serve in the majority of army jobs because they are women. earlier this year, the pentagon opened 14,000 combat related jobs to women, most of them in the army. but there is still a great big brass ceiling women are fighting to breakthrough. one of those women is army colonel ellen herring. welcome. thank you for coming on. i want to begin with the job in afghanistan. what was the job in afghanistan that you wanted? >> well, i had applied to be the program coordinator for a new program that we had in afghanistan, the cultural support teams which were female engagement teams that were engaging with afghan women and afghan locals in afghanistan. and i applied for the position, been accepted for it and shortly before my deployment, i was told

that they had decided i was not qualified for the position. >> three weeks. three weeks before you leave you're told your assignment is canceled. what was the explanation you got? >> well, i was told that i was -- that the positions weren't available, and then that i was not qualified. to different stories from different people. >> so on the one hand you can just be frustrated and angry, but just go along. on the other hand, you can take this to the level in which you've taken it, which is sue. why sue? >> well, actually, that wasn't what precipitated the lawsuit. that was one instance. what really precipitated it was my understanding and knowledge of what women were doing broadly across the military and had been doing for the last ten years. and that really the final straw was the report released in february which said we're going to open some jobs but we're not going to open all of the jobs. even though the recommendations

were that all jobs should be open to women, because it did present this barrier to our advancement. >> so this was the final straw. you sue. let me just brush off a little bit of -- from what i can tell from your resume. you're a west point grad, a career officer, doctoral student, and you're a mom, but here's what we hear from the pentagon. this is what they told the l.a. times. the department is committed to removing barriers that prevent service members from rising to their highest potential based on each person's ability and not constrained by gender restrictive policies. so colonel herring, how do you argue with someone. i had folks come on this show and say, look, it is the sheer physicality of it, women cannot do what the men can. >> the only thing that we're asking in the lawsuit is that we create one standard this and we let all people, men or women, compete against that standard. we're not asking for any unique opportunities, we're not asking for anybody to lower standards.

in fact, we don't want anybody to lower standards. we want to be allowed to compete against the existing standard. >> one standard that men and women have to meet. quickly, pentagon moved to dismiss your suit. where does it stand now? >> well, right now we have until the 31st of october to respond to their move to dismiss and of course we're clefhallenging the november midismiss. they'll get seven days and the circuit court judge here will decide whether she's going to hear the case. >> if you win, what is the first thing you'll be thinking? >> well, if we win, it means that all these opportunities that have been closed to women will now be open. so my hope is that it will open all kinds of opportunities to women across the military services. >> colonel ellen herring, we'll follow it. we'll follow it indeed. thank you very much. >> thank you. he is the highest paid baseball player and touted as one of the best. so yankee fans, want to know why

a-rod was benched? they also want to know why during a losing game a-rod was reportedly trying to hook up with female fans all while he was sitting on the bench. and doesn't stop there.

in 2008, the new york yankees signed the heavy hitter known as a-rod. and that contract made alex rodriguez the highest paid baseball player in the world. do the math. ten years, a cool $275 million. bad decision? perhaps. because just this week the detroit tigers swept the yankees four games over. a-rod spent much of his time on the bench. >> i don't appreciate what he's been doing. he's not hitting. >> it is embarrassing. it is upsetting. big fan, good looking guy, but he's got to step it up on the field. >> not much better on the field for a-rod either. ez ed he's admitting to steroid use, before his yankee days. he's known as the playboy, dating high profile actresses and models. just this week, the new york post reported in the middle of the playoff game with the tigers, while his team was

losing, a-rod was on the bench trying to hook up with some female fans in the stands. he sent a baseball into the stands trying to get their number. despite the problems on and off the field, a-rod says he wants to stay with the yankees. >> i love new york city. i love everything about being a yankee and the highs are very high and the lows are extremely low. >> he's owed $114 million. president obama, governor romney, both in new york at the al smith charity dinner roast. let me tell you, the candidates had more than a couple of jokes. take a listen. >> i hear the same thing everywhere i go. honestly, we're hoping to see michelle. >> usually when i get invited to gathering like this, i'm the designated driver. >> the jabs didn't stop there. ♪

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straight to wall street. alison kosik. how are the markets looking now? >> markets still aren't looking good, but they're off their lows. the dow down 194 points. it was down as much as 236 points. mainly happening because of disappointing earnings from dell companies, mcdonalds fell short of forecast. both pointing to the challenging u.s. economy and weakness in europe and then roll in microsoft's weak earnings from last night, a huge drop in the market. it is happening on the 25th anniversary of the 1987 stock market crash when the dow erased 22 point of its value in one session. back then that was a big deal because it was a drop of 508 points. little irony there on the day we're seeing the dow drop 192 points. >> half an hour to go. alison kosik, thank you. now to politics.

politics of a different kind. you have president obama, mitt romney, normally cutting each other down. not for votes this time, but for laughs. in back-to-back speeches last night, romney on first, they spoke to gallup big wigs, the alfred e. smith dinner, a white sigh fund-raiser hosted by the catholic archdiocese of new york. here is your chance to see which candidate is the better comedian and, yes, that is katie couric in the background. >> i'm pleased that the president is here. we were chatting pleasantly this evening as if tuesday night never happened. and i credit that to the cardinal. it has taken new york's highest spiritual authority to get us back on our best behavior. i was actually hoping the president would bring joe biden along this evening because he'll laugh at anything. of course, we're down to the final months of the president's term.

as presidents -- as president obama surveys the waldorf banquet room, with everyone in white tie and refinery, you have to wonder what he's thinking. so little time, so much to redistribu redistribute. and don't be surprised if the president mentions this evening the monthly jobs report where there was a slight improvement in the numbers. he knows how to seize a moment, this president, and already has a compelling new campaign slogan. you're better off now than you were four weeks ago. let's just say that some in the media have a certain way of looking at things. when suddenly i pulled ahead and some of the major polls, what was the headline? polls show obama leading from behind. and i've already seen early reports from tonight's dinner, headline, obama embraced by catholics, romney dines with rich people.

>> this is the third time that governor romney and i have met recently. as some of you may have noticed, i had a lot more energy in our second debate. i found really well rested after the nice long nap i had in first debate. although it turns out millions of americans focused in on the second debate who didn't focus in on the first debate, and i happen to be one of them. it has been four years since i was last at the al smith dinner. i have to admit some things have changed since then. i heard some people say, barack, you're not as young as you used to be. where is that golden smile? where is that pep in your step? and i say, settle down, joe, i'm trying to run a cabinet meeting here. ultimately, though, tonight is not about the disagreements governor romney and i may have,

it is what we have in common, beginning with our unusual names. actually mitt is his middle name. i wish i could use my middle name. of course, world affairs are a challenge for every candidate. after some of you guys remember, after my foreign trip in 2008, i was attacked as a celebrity, because i was so popular with our allies overseas. and i have to say i'm impressed with how well governor romney avoided that problem. >> good stuff, right? presidents and presidential candidates have been speaking at this alfred e. smith dinner since 1952. smith was first catholic to receive a major party's nomination for president in 1928. and, censure, tsure, the pr candidates were yucking it up last night while congressional races got mean and nasty. verbal punches flying last night when claire mccaskill debated

republican challenger congressman todd akin. the candidates did not mention akin's controversial comments about quote/unquote, legitimate rai rape, but they did dig deep in other areas. >> claire mccaskill was the first to endorse barack obama and she was his strong right hand, passing legislation, voting with him 98% of the time. >> i don't agree with my mother 98% of the time, much less the president of the united states. >> i really didn't say she agreed with barack obama 98% of the time, i said she voted with him 98% of the time. >> congressman akin voted to raise his pay and five days later voted against fully funding the veterans program. >> she talked about the stimulus bill. it had a million dollars in there. she cut funding for veterans and teachers, but managed to get a million dollars in for her home business. so much for transparency. >> he supports the boss being

able to decide whether or not you get paid less just because you're a woman. and if you look at congressman akin's office, in fact he is the boss that does that. his women staff make 23.4% less than the men in his office. >> claire mccaskill seems to think this is a crisis if you don't have everything done by the federal government. >> what did they do with the money? they gave kim kardashian another tax cut. >> from missouri, to battleground ohio, with challenger called an incumbent liar. ohio state treasury josh mendel responding to charges from sherry brown he skipped meetings as treasurers and was trying to skip rungs on the political ladder. >> senator, you were a liar. you're falsely attacking me and i won't stand for it. you might want to try to push people around in washington, but you're not going to push me around. >> it's just a pretty remarkable thing for a young man to say or a man of any age to say in a

political debate. >> the reason you're agitated and frustrated tonight is because the people of the state of ohio disagree with you. >> i don't need a lecture from somebody who can't wait to get to the next job and run for a higher office and continue to try to move up the ladder. >> challenger mendel, in case you're curious, is 35 years old. in minneapolis, it got nasty between democrat congressman keith elson and republican challenger chris fields. boiling over when fields accused ellison of being behind a recent story involving fields divorce. >> you're real stupid for bringing it up. i'll tell you this -- i will tell you this. talk about your own. talk about the fact that you only pay $500 for child support. talk about that. you used that money to hurt my ex-wife who i still love. >> you are a low life scumbag. >> all right, let's move on.

we want to talk about -- >> you are a gutter dweller bringing up your domestic violence charges. >> 18 days left until the election. george zimmerman back in court today. his lawyers going after trayvon martin's school record and twitter account in this stand your ground case. how relevant are martin's records here? we're on the case next. tonight our guest, thomas sargent. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. professor sargent, can you tell me what cd rates will be in two years? no. if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally. to compete on the global stage. what we need are people prepared for the careers of our new economy. by 2025 we could have 20 million jobs without enough college graduates to fill them.

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new developments today in the george zimmerman murder case. a new judge and more requests here. zimmerman's attorney requested trayvon martin's school records today. i'm talking grades, attendance, disciplinary action, zimmerman, here he was in court, just a short time ago. now, this request has absolutely outraged the florida teenager's parents. they held a press conference just a short time ago. they say their son's character is being attacked and that his school records are not at all relevant to this case. cnn legal analyst sunny hostin joins me now, on the case today. you saw this hearing. zimmerman's attorneys want access to trayvon martin's twitter, facebook, school records. why is this relevant? >> you know, not only did they want access to the school

records, they're going to get access to the school records, twitter accounts, facebook accounts. and they say it is relevant to show his reputation, whether or not trayvon martin was an aggressive person because that is really going to be the central issue in this case. who started this confrontation? who was the initial pursuer and confronter and that is because, brooke, we all know a confrontation took place. we know george zimmerman had injuries. we all know that trayvon martin died. what we don't know is how it started and who started it and under florida law, interestingly enough, reputation evidence of a victim is relevant to show whether or not he or she was aggressive on the night, on the day, in question. this was pretty fascinating to me because where i've practiced law, that just isn't the case. we're hearing about rage, people

are feeling the way trayvon martin's parents are feeling, that this is sort of a trashing of the victim. this is revictimizing the victim's family. so this has really been just a hot button issue today. >> and i know medical records, the state asked for george zimmerman's medical records. sunny hostin on the case, thank you very much. >> thanks. >> major newspaper in a key battleground state endorses mitt romney days before this final presidential debate. but this endorsement comes with a twist. i'll tell you what it is, plus, cnn's erin burnett out front on who benefits from early voting. she joins me next. all energy development comes with some risk,

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mitt romney gets a surprise, florida endorsement. the orlando sentinel endorsed romney for president. the twist, that same paper endorsed barack obama just four years ago. here's what the editorial board of the paper writes.

the core of romney's campaign platfo platform, his five point plan at least shows he understands that reviving the economy and repairing the government's balance sheet are imperative now, not four years in the future. colorado, denver post endorsing obama saying, it would be a stretch to say we are bullish on the entirety of his first term. obama is a steady leader who keeps the interest of a broad array of americans in mind. more than 2 million americans perhaps you included in this, you've already voted. early voting could really make a difference in some key battleground states. just look at this line. around the corner. this is charlotte, north carolina. just yesterday. and in what we have been calling the mother of all battleground states, ohio, early voters lined up to cast ballots there this week. let's go to erin burnett, host of "erin burnett out front" to talk about hitting this point home that early voting is -- could be pretty important when

it comes to november 6th. >> it can, brooke. we have been looking into this, to get the numbers. i saw the pictures like you're looking at and said how significant is this? this is incredibly significant. there are 22 states plus the district of columbia that allow early voting. 19 of them have already started. some of those lines like you were looking at there in charlotte, north carolina, on monday, it is going to be another big day. you'll have eight more states that start early voting. as you pointed out, brooke, more than 2 million americans have already cast ballots and that does include absentee. i want to make sure that's clear. it is a big number of people, and early voting can be very, very crucial for one party, actually, more so than the other it seems. >> which one? >> all right, so that's the key question. it appears from the analysis we have so far that early voting tends to swing democratic. take north carolina, brooke. this is pretty amazing since you're looking at the lines there. in 2008, on election day, mccain

won 58% of the state of north carolina, he won it handily. but he lost the state of north carolina because president obama had built up such a lead in early voting that he ended up winning the state by 14,000 votes. that goes to show you it turned an entire state. look at iowa now, i'll pull up the numbers here, 45% of the early voting ballot requests come in have come in from registered democrats and 30% from republicans. it does tend to swing democratic. and experts say, well, that's partially because some of the democratic voters that are involved have jobs that don't have the flexibility for them to go to the polls on election day and they need to take advantage of early voting. it also, brooke, seems to be linked to the fact that in a lot of these key states there are a lot more offices, a stronger ground game perhaps for the democrats. this is something to watch for on election day. >> it is incredible to watch the lines. even in terms of the electoral votes, just talking to jessica yellin yesterday, following the president, four electoral votes but they matter and will very

much matter in a matter of 18 days. we're counting. so are you. erin, burnett, thank you so much. she'll have much more on early voting tonight. tune in at 7:00 eastern here on cnn. pretty tough week, you could say, for lance armstrong, after big time sponsors drop him. armstrong is expected to make his first appearance today. will he talk about this doping scandal? those details are next. you see us, at the start of the day. on the company phone list that's a few names longer.

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so i brought it to mike at meineke. we gave her car a free road handling check. i like free. free is good. my money. my choice. my meineke. talk about burning a bridge, that's exactly what greg smith did just a couple months ago. now goldman is fighting back. christine romans has more on what the firm is saying about smith. christine. >> brooke, goldman sachs hitting back at former employee gregg smith. smith resigned through a critical op-ed through the "new york times" in march. the bank now revealing the results of its own internal investigation into smith's very high profile departure. goldman says smith asked for a raise and reacted badly when he didn't get it. the bank released an internal e-mail first to bloomberg news and then confirmed to us. it was written by one of his managers. it said "greg smith off the

charts unrealistic thinks he should trade at multiples. we told him there's very little tolerance for actions like that and he needs to tone it down." lloyd -- "it makes me ill how callously people talk about ripping their clients off. over the last 12 months i have seen five different managing directors refer to their own clients as muppets sometimes over internal e-mail. why i left goldman sachs, that book is due out monday. not a surprise then why we're getting details of goldman's investigation now ahead of that book release. brooke. >> christine romans, thank you. now to lance armstrong. expected to make his very first public appearance the day after the u.s. anti-doping association laid out hundreds of pages what it calls doping evidence.

armstrong will be part of the livestrong anniversary event in austin, texas, that is tonight. he's officially stepped down as chairman. just some celebrities scheduled to attend tonight's fundraiser, several huge sponsors have bailed on armstrong this week including nike, but nike says it will continue to support livestrong. now i want to take a moment to remember a texas icon. big tex has stood five stories tall over the fair for 60 years. his booming voice greeting visitors and conversing with children. but -- i'd rather hear that voice than mine. it only took ten minutes this morning for fire to burn big tex to his core. no more 50-pound belt buckle. no more 75-gallon hat. big tex's arms, hands and metal skeleton are all that remain. that is a sad, sad picture. officials say a fire started in

a motor that makes big tex's head move. they vow he will be back next year in time to crown the successor so deep fried coke, fried bubble gum and this year's food favorite fried bacon cinnamon roll. i am missing a lot by not being in texas. now to this, an awesome story. remarkable progress here now for that girl, that teenager that was shot by the taliban. ten days now she is standing, she is communicating. a neurosurgeon explains how coming up next. but first you asked, i answered. here's a clip from our behind the scenes videos as what we like to call the week wind down. brian asks, would you ever want to do something really crazy like moderate a presidential debate? what would be top on your question list? >> something i'm real interested in is the use of drones. so i would ask the candidates, let's say you use a drone and you take out a high profile target, someone who is bent on killing americans, but you do that and in doing so there's

collateral damage. let's say you kill children, i would want you speaking to the mother of that child, defend your stance on using drones americans are always ready to work hard for a better future. since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪

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covered by 90% of insurance plans, including medicare. find your co-pay at myflexpen.com. couple minutes away from the top of the hour and this man, wolf blitzer, top of the hour, what are you working on today? >> lots happening as far as the investigation into benghazi, libya. what happened, what did the u.s. know in the weeks and months leading up to the killing of the united states ambassador and three other americans including two members of the green beret. there's new information coming out, the chairman of the house intelligence committee, mike rogers, he's standing by. we'll be speaking with him live here in "the situation room" during our 6:00 p.m. eastern hour. anxiously awaiting that interview. also fareed zakaria. and right at the top of the hour new poll numbers on the critically important state of florida, a brand new cnn poll is about to come out.

our own john king is at the magic wall. >> wolf blitzer, we'll see you in a matter of about 60 seconds here. thank you, sir. before we go we have to talk about this woman who has become a symbol against the taliban. malala yousufzai, that pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head. some great news for you today. she is now standing and even able to write coherent sentences. so you see the tubes, once they come out, doctors believe she will be able to speak. i talked to a neurosurgeon earlier explaining to me just how she's come so far in ten days. >> what may have happened is that she was fortunate in that it was somewhat of a grazing injury and damaged some of her frontal lobe but damaged some other areas. look at the brain there are areas here and here related to language function. so it may have damaged areas adjacent to that. >> but it missed. >> it also probably sounds as though if it may have spared the motor areas. so the